More than Just a Band
The Hookups made it their goal to find people, not players. For that reason, their love for each other shows through their music and inspires their audience as a result.
The Hookups performing at their show at Schweinhaus Biergarten in Bellingham, Wash. on April 30, 2022 // photo by Ryan Hamrick
Written by Belle Wright
Connor Cedergreen walks into Champlin Guitars, a local guitar shop in Bellingham, not knowing that the employee working there, Juliet Diballa, would become the catalyst of a life-changing opportunity and a dear friend.
That’s when he saw it: a 1967 Yamaha Flying Samurai. It was Cedergreen’s dream guitar and he just had to have it. “You should totally get it,” said Diballa. “You have to.”
As they finish the transaction, the realization suddenly hits that this relic would be his forever. The guitar was more than just an instrument, but the physical manifestation of his true love in life: music.
Diballa’s voice suddenly cut through his thoughts like a blade. “You seem cool,” she said. “You should come audition for our band.” Cedergreen agrees, and a few weeks later, steps out of his comfort zone and into the limelight.
The band in question was a group of three original members. Two guitarists, Juliet Diballa and Ben Alexander, and Avery Colbrunn, the drummer. They had already formed a strong connection with each other, but were actively looking to add another member to their band, The Hookups, a Bellingham-based band playing soft-surf rock with a hint of jazz.
They held auditions for other members to join before, but none of them were the right fit. They were very careful about who they would choose to accompany them on their musical journey.
“One of our stipulations for auditions was we wanted someone to just click organically,” said Alexander. “We pretty much knew as soon as Connor walked in the door that he was going to be in the band, and that’s exactly what we wanted.”
The group was well aware that creative differences and other conflicts could get in the way of making some great artistry. Even some of the best bands of all time, like The Beatles, Oasis., or The Eagles, eventually came to an end due to the creative differences.
“Writing and making music with people is a really intimate and vulnerable experience,” said Diballa. “You have to be able to express yourself.”
Cedergreen arrived at his first audition and a surge of anxiety washed over him like a crashing wave. “Throughout the audition process, I was scared out of my mind,” said Cedergreen. “I think most of my feelings at the time were overshadowed by anxiety, but now that I’m here looking back on it, there was a lot of joy and genuine passion-pursuing that I was doing, and it was very fulfilling.”
For the second audition, Cedergreen walked in the door with a Portuguese board game called “Azul.” He held up a box covered in beautiful multi-colored mosaic patterns. Inside, there were vivid-colored tiles designed to be placed in rows until a single player had successfully made a row across their 5x5 board.
“I’m going to teach you this game,” he said. For the next hour, Colbrunn, Alexander, Diballa and Cedergreen sat around a table playing the obscure, Portuguese board game with their potential new member.
The Hookups members Connor Cedergreen, Avery Colbrunn, Juliet Diballa and Ben Alexander are pictured sitting on a brick ledge in the middle of downtown Bellingham, Wash. on April 30, 2022. conversing and laughing with each other // photo by Ryan Hamrick
They laughed, poked fun at each other and talked like they had all known each other for many lifetimes. An atmosphere booming with joy and fellowship absorbed everything and everyone in the room.
After the night was over, Cedergreen walked out the door, and the group went from three to four.
“We texted him first thing the next day,” said Diballa. “I wanted to text him as soon as he left, but I was patient and waited.”
From that point forward, the new group of four spared no effort in creating music that holds the emotional attention of their audience.
“A lot of our music is really dancy and upbeat, but when you kind of listen a little bit more closely to the lyrics, they can be a little bit more introspective, and sometimes even melancholic,” said Diballa.
Diballa explained that The Hookups want their audience to find comfort in the fact that the human experience can be hard, but they are not alone in that pain.
“It’s almost like a comfort of ‘Hey, this happens often, this is frequent. The human experience is common and there’s more similarities than there are differences,’” Diballa said. “We work very hard with our songwriting to reflect that.”
Colbrunn said they hope for their listeners to see beyond the upbeat ballads and feel the hidden depth of what their music truly conveys.
“I think if we can provide the Swiss Army knife of music to our listeners, they can have the dancy-upbeat-jumpy stuff while on the other end of the blade, they can feel the heartbreak and sense the emotional energy that we’re putting into the music,” said Colbrunn. “I think that’s all we can really hope for.”
Alexander expressed his appreciation for the way music can connect people from all walks of life and his main goal as a musician.
“I think it’s been my goal as a musician, to share a piece of myself and inspire others to live their lives as their own and to be creative and be inspired to just do what they want,” said Alexander.
In the next five years, The Hookups saw themselves expanding their positive influence outside of the local scene and into Seattle venues like WAMU Theater and The Crocodile.
Alexander does most of the bookings and managing for The Hookups. Much of it consists of sending direct messages to potential venues from the band’s Instagram, emailing media kits to venues and an abundance of networking.
In one of his most recent booking endeavors, Alexander helped secure a show at a local Bellingham venue called Schweinhaus Biergarten.
The Hookups members are pictured talking excitedly amongst each other before their show at Schweinhaus Biergarten in Bellingham, Wash. on April 30, 2022 // photo by Ryan Hamrick
Let’s set the scene: It’s Saturday night. The outdoor stage at Schweinhaus is covered in randomly-scattered musical equipment facing the crowd. The venue is full of people chatting at picnic benches while sipping on frosty liters of beer and munching on hand-made pretzels and German sausage.
A mural-covered brick wall showcasing lively hues and patterns seemed like the perfect backdrop for a musical group that was just as vibrant. The sound of people laughing and talking fills the space as apprehension and excitement hangs in the air.
Colbrunn, Diballa, Cedergreen and Alexander sit down at a picnic bench closest to the stage, excitedly talking amongst themselves while the inevitable pre-show jitters begin to set in.
“I’m super excited,” said Alexander. “I kind of like playing two shows right next to each other because I get in the mindset of performing and I like to stay there.”
The prior week, The Hookups had performed at The Wild Buffalo House of Music, one of the biggest venues in Bellingham. It was a big goal of theirs to perform there, and it happened to be one of the best crowds they had played for yet.
There is a lot of emotion that comes through before and after a performance. Showcasing the end result from months worth of preparation, hard work and passion can be a gut-wrenching experience but once it’s over, the satisfaction is incomparable.
“Last show I was elated,” said Alexander. “I had after-show jitters when I usually get the pre-show jitters, but I was just so excited and so filled with energy I just didn’t know how to contain myself.”
“It’s like a sigh of relief but also so much excitement,” Diballa concurred.
Alexander and Cedergreen explained how their cohesion and connection as a group brings in a lot of confidence to counteract the pre-show nerves.
“We try to do instrumental and lyrics all together and practice it until we are confident and know it front to back,” said Alexander. “We diversify everything and split responsibilities. So I’ll do emails and send out press kits, Avery and Juliet do the social media stuff, we all do design and Connor does networking.”
Cedergreen, the newest member of the band, expressed how quickly he noticed the collaborative nature already ingrained within The Hookups.
“Coming into it, it seemed like they intentionally designed their band around a collaborative project and that was always reinforced since the moment I stepped in,” said Cedergreen. “Sharing songwriting, sharing words with each other and building everything collaboratively kind of set the tone and it shows when we play.”
Above it all, Colbrunn said the most gratifying part of making music is expressing love and touching people’s hearts.
“Music, especially in a group setting like this, the connections and the memories that come with it are once in a lifetime,” she said.
“Find people, not players.” Colbrunn smiled.
As the light from the sun began to fade, the lights on the stage began to brighten. It was finally showtime. They hurried to the stage and got in their positions.
After getting in their positions, the music began slowly at first, but picked up in pace. Each of their instruments worked in cohesion to create a lively ballad the crowd couldn’t help but cheer for.
As the drums, bass, guitar and vocals danced together in unity, the upbeat music created a sound that was nearly impossible to not bob your head or tap your feet to.
The crowd gathered at the foot of the stage in a collective swarm cheering, clapping, and dancing to the music. The bubbly, effervescent energy of the venue arose quickly within the first few seconds of the music playing.
Diballa and Alexander stood back to back playing their instruments in harmony with one another. Everyone on stage and in the crowd was smiling and full of life.
After a few more songs, the set was over. Though the music had stopped, the feeling it brought the audience was still very much alive.
Colbrunn, Diballa, Alexander and Cedergreen hurried off stage glowing with red faces and an aura of satisfaction and joy. They high-fived each other, voicing words of encouragement as they made their way off stage. The set was over, but their legacy was only just beginning.